One Frame At A Time: Jabrill Peppers, Wizard Comment Count

Ace

Jabrill Peppers and his Paramus Catholic squad scrimmaged against Red Bank Catholic today. I don't know the final score, nor do I care, because HOLY MOTHER OF GOD LOOK AT THIS RUN:

[Video version here for the GIF-averse.]

A smattering of Twitter reactions that didn't contain totally-justified expletives:

247's JC Shurburtt went so far as to suggest that Michigan should play Peppers at running back, even with the presence of Derrick Green on the roster. If you've got the time, our whole conversation is worth checking out:

Anyway, just wanted to post that our cornerback recruit—whose next-best position is supposedly safety, followed by wide receiver—just broke the internet as a running back. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee.

UPDATE: Slow-motion with me...

From the top: Broken tackle, immediate juke right, juke left, dip shoulder, broken tackle, stiffarm(!), reverse field (time elapsed: 3.3 seconds thus far), broken tackle, spin move, spin move, spin move to break tackle, stiffarm, waltz into end zone. All of that happened in 8.5 seconds. I keep trying to write words and then get distracted by the pictures, so I'll just stop trying and let you do the same.

Comments

denardogasm

August 27th, 2013 at 6:35 PM ^

Yeah, he says 220 lb corners are rare as if that makes it unlikely he'll land there, but not many 220 lb guys run a 40 in the 4.3s and can cut like that.  And hit like that.  And rap like that...

Also, the argument about him being so much better than Green comes down to the fact that we don't even need an all world RB in order to be productive in the run game because our line will be a barbarian horde.  It benefits us more as a team to put Peppers on an island.  So, assuming JC is right, we can either have an insane guy at RB and some other guy at CB, or we can have an insane-minus guy at RB and an insane guy at CB.  Easy choice.

DPUblue

August 27th, 2013 at 5:52 PM ^

I think the most impressive thing on that clip are the unreal feet/cuts at the beginning between the 30and25 yard lines. Those cuts were so G.D. fast that they're barely noticeable...crazy...

 

But Also also...B BUTTON B BUTTON B BUTTON B BUTTON.

denardogasm

August 27th, 2013 at 6:38 PM ^

I'm pretty sure Michigan recruited him just for defense, and got him partly because they were one of the only ones who did so and that's where he wanted to play.  From the way Woodson and Carr tell it in the BTN Big Ten Icons special, Woodson was pretty surprised when they told him they were going to put in some plays on offense for him after his freshman year, so I don't think that was always the plan.

Cali Wolverine

August 27th, 2013 at 7:29 PM ^

...as SC season ticket holder i remember watching Reggie play and thinking to myself that this is the best college player I have seen in person since watching Woodson play when I was at Michigan. Reggie 2.0, Woodson 2.0, Peppers 1.0?...who cares, this kid is special and I can't believe he is not the #1 high school player in the country. I have a feeling he is going to put on an absolute clinic during whatever high school All American game he is playing in.

robmorren2

August 27th, 2013 at 6:38 PM ^

I think the most impressive thing was that he maintained a "full head of steam" throughout the entire run. It didn't matter if he spun, juked, changed direction, or had defenders bouncing off him ... he maintained his momentum & speed the whole way.

Drbogue

August 27th, 2013 at 7:58 PM ^

But that was nine arm tackles. Flashbacks of our D last year against Bama. Still, the leg strength is impressive

eth2

August 27th, 2013 at 8:23 PM ^

That can't be right, can it? If people around here are bitching about a 240 lbs freshman RB, how will they react to a 220 lbs DB? Personally I love the idea of a 220 lbs Wolverine who runs a 4.3 - 4.4 forty blowing up opposing players.

jerseyblue

August 27th, 2013 at 8:40 PM ^

I went to the Parochial championship game at Giants Stadium when he was a sophomore at Don Bosco. Even then he was the best player on the field and some of his teammates were Yuri Wright, Darius Hamilton, Alquadin Muhammad, and Elijah Shumate. He played a little WR but mostly RB. They coudn't really stop him then either. Just a beast wherever he played.